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False Friends are More Dangerous than Open Opponents" 



THE CASE 

AGAINST 

Tart and Roosevelt 



From the standpoint of 
the Colored Voters 



Pamphlet No. 8 



ISSUED BY 
The National Independent Political League 

Headquarters: Lewis Bld'g. Cor. 6th & Louisiana Ave. N. W, 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Our Mission: "The Political Emancipation of the Colored 
man in America' - 



EXCEPT the so-called "money barons," all 
the people have good grounds for rejecting 
both Taft and Roosevelt, but the Colored people 
have special reasons of their own- 
In their general principles of action — and 
also of non-action — so far as Colored people 
are concerned, these two, Taft and Roooevelt, 
are very much alike. 

In the first place; both of them heve bid for 
us, and they think bought us, for fools or 
children. Mr. Taft in his Greensboro address 
specifically referred tousas ki political children/ 1 
He followed that up by openly announcing, in 
his inaugural address, a policy, which carried 
out,. would mean, that the people of our race, 
particular!}^ the eight millions who live in the 
South, would be shut out from even~ place of 
honor and trust and worth-while emolument, 
under the Government. 

And } T et, this man stood on a political plat- 
form, one plank of which was an affirmation 
of special friendship for the Colored race and 
a pledge to maintain and enforce the War 
Amendments, which, as ever3 T bod} x knows, 
were intended to prevent just such discrimi- 
nation and unfairness as Mr. Taft's announced 
policy would perpetuate and aggravate. Not 
only did the Republican platform on which 
Mr. Taft ran contain the usual pledge of spec- 
ial friendship, but Mr. Taft in his acceptance 
speech made reference to this plank and made 
a solemn asservation of his approval of it and 
of .his intention, "if elected, to live up to it in 
% 'letter "tad spirlV , Gill 

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In Arkansas a similar constitutional'amendment was 
up for ratification this year, but not a word was 
heard from Mr. Taft or Mr. Roosevelt or any of the 
Republican leaders against it. The reason is clear. 
Arkansas will probably go Democratic whether or 
not black men continue to vote there. Hence these 
worthies — our professed guardians — let us fight it out 
for ourselves, as we did, and with the help of thous- 
ands of high-principled Democrats in Arkansas, as 
in Maryland, we won. 

Roosevelt, taking a leaf from the Taft book, has 
definitely announced that any amelioration of our 
condition, especially in the States where we need help 
the most, is not a part of bis program. 

That these men have no regard for the opinions of 
Colored people is evidenced by their acts in other 
affairs. For example, Roosevelt wines and dines the 
men, who in contempt of the Supreme Court, permit- 
ted a colored boy to be lynched in Chattanooga. 
Taft hastens to pardon men convicted of holding 
Negroes in peonage. Roth have gone about telling 
us that our race is ''on trial'' and that we must 
"prove ourselves" innocent of this and that. Both 
had a part in the measly treatment that the Colored 
officers of the Spanish American War received. 

And last but not least, both have shown contempt 
for the best and most enlightened opinion of our race 
by their persistent refusal to seek or to heed any ad- 
vice or counsel outside the toadying, truckling, time- 
serving class. And if any of the dwindling few Col- 
ored men appointed to office by them was not of that 
class, thev did not know it. 



pD 1.0. < 



More and more men are coming to have regard for 
the character of candidates rather than the past his- 
tory of parties. It is true that Lincoln, Grant and 
Sumner were at one time in the Repuhlican party. 
But the Republican party of that time, in principles 
and purposes, had little in common with that of 
Hanna and Harriman, of Roosevelt and Taft. 

Let any honest, intelligent Colored man make a 
list, no matter how long, of the disabilities, legal and 
civic, which vex and beset us and which hinder our 
progress as a race. Let him check off those which he 
thinks will be removed or even mitigated by theelect- 
ion of either of these men. If, as is most probable, 
he finds none, then let him check off these which were 
bettered [and add the names of any that were removed] 
while either Taft or Roosevelt was in power. Let 
him study the results, and ask himself, what will it 
profit us to re-elect either? The maxim, "Let well 
enough alone," can scareJy appl^ to the present situ- 
ation, so far as we are concerned. It is as morally 
certain as anything can well be that it is useless or 
worse to expect any relief from either of these. Have 
they not been thoroughly tried and found wanting? Is 
is not time to try another? The men whom the Dem- 
ocrats have selected to lead their party have been 
Governors of great states and in public life for years. 
Search their writings and records. Do you find any 
rottenness?— any slandering of our race?— any recog- 
nition of time-servers?— any unfulfilled promises? — in 
short, any reason to doubt their sincerity? If Repub- 
lican presidents have prevented their party from do- 
ingitsduty by us— supposing the party has desired 
to do it: may not these honorable Christian gentle- 
men, Gov. Wilson of New Jersey and Gov. Marshal 
of Indiana, lead their party into the right path — ever) 
supposing the party does not at present desire to go'! 
They desire and deserve a trial and ask your help. 

6 



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